Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,To storm or fire the world must fall.An oath to keep with a final breath,And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

Percy is confused. When he awoke from his long sleep, he didn’t know much more than his name. His brain fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa tol him he is a demigod and trained him to fight with the pen/sword in his pocket. Somehow Percy manages to make it to a camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he has to keep killing monsters along the way. But the camp doesn’t ring and bells with him. The only thing he can recall from his past is another name: Annabeth

Hazel is supposed to be dead. When she lived before, she didn’t do a very good job of it. Sure, she was an obedient daughter, even when her mother was possessed by greed. But that was the problem – when the Voice took over he mother and commanded Hazel to use her “gift” for and evil purpose, Hazel couldn’t say no. Now because of her mistake, the future of the world is at risk. Hazel wished she could ride away from it all on the stallion that appears in her dreams.

Frank is a klutz. His grandmother says he is descended from heroes and can be anything he wants to be, but he doesn’t see it. He doesn’t even know who his father is. He keeps hoping Apollo will claim him, because the only thing he is good at is archery – although not good enough to win camp war games. His bulky physique makes him feel like an ox, especially infront of Hazel, his closest friend at camp. He trusts her completely – enough to share the secret he holds close to his heart.

Beginning at the “other” camp for half-bloods and extending as far as the land beyond the gods, this breathtaking second installment of the Heroes od Olympus series introduces new demigods, revives fearsome monsters, and features other remarkable creatures, all destined to play a part in the Prophesy of Seven. (via Goodreads.com)

This is really a 4.5 star book. Explanation is a spoiler, so don’t read it if you don’t want to know! I’ve marked where the spoiler begins.

This was an excellent read. In fact, I focused solely on this book and managed to read it in two days (which was a huge deal as I’ve taken extra long to read these days! hmph…). This book is not about Percy Jackson. I mean, he’s in it, and we get to read his chapters, but it is not about him. Instead, Riordan tells the story of the last two members of the Seven, Frank and Hazel.

I have to say, Frank’s story line felt like the strongest to me in this book. His background was fleshed out more and his story continues beyond this installment of the series. His parts of the book hold the most action as well. And we see a lot of the conclusions in those sections.

Hazel started out great, but the resolution of her past is explained in the first couple of chapters that she narrates. The rest of the story is about her being worried of telling Frank and Percy. I do find it fascinating about that tidbit about Sammy, but I can pretty much guess what that’s about without waiting for the third book.

Tyson and Mrs. O’Leary make an appearance and so does Nico.

The book ends in a frustrating cliff hanger, but it also signals the beginning of the epic quest that will apparently span for the next three books. (If I am not mistaken about this being a 5 book series.)

Spoiler ahead:

Now, the reason why this book did not get a 5 star rating is because I felt the writing could have been better. Towards the end, especially, it felt as if Riordan got tired and just started telling me what was happening instead of showing it to me. And I thought you needed a god’s help to kill the giants, but Frank and Hazel killed Alcyoneus without any help. Other than that, the jokes weren’t that funny and Percy’s voice seemed different somehow (although I’m willing to let that one slide on account that its been so long since I’ve read PJ&O).

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Why hello there! I love Rick Riordan! Awesome author! I love Percy Jackson and the Olympians. What a great book and now Heroes of Olympus! Rick is such a genius. I just hate the fact that I have to wait for Fall 2012 for the next book (Mark of Athena). Can’t wait! It’s killing me.

Rick Riordan is pretty great. I’ve read all of the Olympian/Olympus books to date too. In order to pass the time between books, I keep reading the recommended books on Amazon. Though, that’s not much help since it just gets me hooked on yet another series that I have to wait for. ::shrug:: What can you do, right?